Living in Los Angeles

Lots of people other than just movie stars, supermodels, and starry-eyed waitresses have chosen a life in Los Angeles. L.A. is a multicultural, multi-ethnic city and home to people from all walks of life. If you are going to be one of them, InterNations has all the information on living in Los Angeles, from healthcare to housing.

Los Angeles is an ethnically and culturally diverse city and almost 60% of the people speak a language other than English at home.

L.A. offers a lot of excellent healthcare facilities, but make sure that you have health insurance as treatment costs are otherwise extremely high.

Pollution is a big problem in Los Angeles and due to the heavy traffic and the lack of rain, the city was ranked the most polluted city in the country in 2015.

School is mandatory for children age six to 18. There are many good public schools as well as private or international schools.

Public transportation has improved a lot over the last few years in L.A. Nonetheless, most people still depend on their cars.

According to recent news reports, people from various countries, including those with a valid visa and residence permit, have encountered difficulties when entering the United States. Unfortunately, the full extent of those issues seems to be unclear. Before you decide to move or travel there, or leave the country temporarily if already living in the USA, please consult a US embassy and an immigration lawyer if you fear you might be affected.

As an expat, you’ll find yourself in familiar company in Los Angeles. The city’s ethnic and racial diversity has defined its history and culture. Almost 60% of the people living in Los Angeles speak a language other than English at home and there are more than 140 different languages spoken in the city. Of the about 3.9 million people living in L.A., nearly half are of Hispanic or Latino origin, and you’ll meet people from all sorts of racial and ethnic backgrounds. So, if you are of a global mindset and enjoy a heterogeneous environment, life in Los Angeles has a lot to offer.

The quality of life in Los Angeles is generally high, but so are the costs of living: Forbes estimates that L.A. is 17.9% more expensive than the national average. This is partly due to very high property prices and high rents. You can read more about this in our guide on moving to Los Angeles. In terms of safety, the conditions for living in Los Angeles, once nicknamed the gang capital of America, have greatly improved over the years due to gentrification and decreasing crime rates. Even though the crime rates have recently slightly increased after decreasing for more than a decade, Los Angeles remains safer than at any time since the 1950s.

People in Los Angeles enjoy a subtropical-Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine and hardly any rain. Winter temperatures usually only drop as low as 50°F (10°C), and summer days can be as warm as 90°F (32°C). Upwards of twelve hours of sunshine a day during the summer months and around 75 miles (120 km) of beach ensure that sunbathers and surfers always get their money’s worth.

Pollution and Earthquakes: Safety in L.A.

Unfortunately, summer is also smog season in L.A. The American Lung Association ranked Los Angeles the number one most polluted city in 2015, and it’s all but inevitable that the air pollution can have serious impacts on the quality of life in Los Angeles. By and large, the pollution is caused by the heavy traffic, the L.A./Long Beach Port Complex, and the manufacturing industry. The city’s various geographical features and the lack of rain don’t do it any favors in this regard.

Thus, while the smog season is unlikely to affect those who live in hilly areas or directly on the ocean front, the heavy layers of smog floating over Downtown L.A. and the valleys can cause serious health issues, especially for people with respiratory diseases. The government has taken several measures to tackle this problem, including creating incentives for car owners living in Los Angeles to drive low-emission vehicles, such as rebates on clean vehicles for low-income drivers who scrap their older cars.

People living in Los Angeles also face a significant risk of earthquakes. However, these are usually of low intensity, and most are barely noticeable. If you are unfamiliar with earthquakes, you may find this little Emergency Preparedness Booklet by the L.A. Fire Department helpful. Apart from earthquakes, there are no other common health and safety risks associated with living in Los Angeles.

If you want to find out more about other safety risks in the USA and about how to behave in the case of emergency, take a look at our article on emergency preparedness in the US for more details.

We do our best to keep this article up to date. However, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is always current or complete.

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